


Good For You

by zouge_tori



Series: Unconventional Pushes in the Right Direction [1]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: A Lot of Bashing Actually, Adam Sucks, Carlos Being an Idiot, Consequences, Core Four Bashing, Depression, Does it count as suicide if you constantly come back?, Family, Family Feels, Gen, I'm going to count as suicide, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Isle of the Lost (Disney) is a Terrible Place, Jay Is Smart, Light Carlos Bashing, Mental Health Issues, Mistakes were made, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, People Die and Then Come Back, Pretty Much the Reality of the Fact that the Core 4 Never Went Back to Their Families, Self-Harm, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, The Core 4 Aren't Perfect, United States of Auradon (Disney) Is Not Perfect, Zevon is Smart, either way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-14 13:06:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17509154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zouge_tori/pseuds/zouge_tori
Summary: Carlos hasn't been feeling okay for a while but hasn't known why.But a dream soon leads him to realize what has been the matter.And it isn't pretty.





	1. Like a Train Going off the Tracks

WARNING: Self-Harm and Suicide Attempt(s) Described/Implied   
  


Carlos had been feeling empty as of late. Everything he had done felt weird and hollow, as if it wasn’t a true victory. Every compliment, every accomplishment, every A on a test felt wrong somehow, as if he didn’t truly deserve all of this praise. So here he was, staring at his project, which was perfect to a T but still didn’t seem fully right. Groaning as he rubbed his eyes, he pushed out of the desk and clambered into bed, glancing at the clock before snuggling down into bed, though a part of him noticed that Dude wasn’t with him.

And he soon slipped into unconsciousness.

When his eyes opened, he found himself back on the Isle in the apartment above Hearts and Parts, where he had lived for the past 10 years of his life. He crept forward as music began to play from somewhere but nowhere at the same time. Suddenly, a spotlight started to shine on him and Carlos winced, covering the area above his eyes with his hand. When his eyes focused, he immediately saw his uncle and practical father, David, standing in front of him, looking uncharacteristically angry and disappointed.

“So you found a place where the grass is greener.”

Carlos jumped at how harsh David’s singing voice was, as it was normally gentle and soft. His uncle’s eyes were narrowed as the scenery briefly flickered to the hideout where he started hanging out more and more until he barely visited home and then the rolling grassy fields of Auradon.

“And you jumped the fence to the other side.”

David’s hands spread in front of him as a small little hologram first showed him Carlos slipping out of the house without even telling David where he was going while the second showed him in the limo riding to Auradon, which was another thing he did without telling David.

“Is it good?” Carlos flinched as David’s hands suddenly closed, crushing the hologram, “Are they giving you a world I could never provide?” David sang almost desperately as Carlos’s body stepped back, even though that Carlos was willing his body to move forward.

“Well I hope you're proud of your big decision.”

David walked behind him, having a mock proud look on his face that cracked, showing anger and sorrow on his face, as he did small jazz hands, which would have been funny if it wasn’t for how sarcastically he was doing it.

“Yeah, I hope it's all that you want and more.”

Carlos tried to open his mouth to tell him that no, that wasn’t true, but his body still wasn’t obeying him as it backed away little more.

“Now you're free from the agonizing life you were living before.”

Carlos flinched as he saw images of how David and his family treated him, which was, while a bit paranoid and strict, had good reasons, as the Isle was a dangerous place and many of them were worried about how he could survive on the Isle without being protected, versus how Auradon treated him, which was coddling and babying to the point of near suffocation, but wasn’t as bad as the Isle. However, before he could actually say anything about it, his body was forcing him to run away from David, who looked heartbroken.

“And you say what you need to say!”

Carlos’s feet pounded on the ground as the apartment seemed to become impossibly big and images of all of the mistakes that he had made on the Isle went flying by him as he ran.

“So that you get to walk away!”

Carlos slid as suddenly the whole shop tilted, causing Carlos to bewilderedly look around as he saw all of the images of him moving on in Auradon, from joining Tourney to dating Jane.

“It would kill you to have to stay trapped when you've got something new!”

Carlos winced as he saw the image of David’s bloody body on the floor of the kitchen, his wrists and arms bleeding out as he had tried to kill himself in a desperate attempt to “punish” himself for everything that Cruella had done. But before he could do anything, David appeared in front of him, crying and angry.

“Well I'm sorry you had it rough! And I'm sorry I'm not enough. Thank God they rescued you!”

Suddenly, he felt a hand roughly grab his wrist and throw him into one of the shelves, causing him to stumble and cough. Carlos looked up in disbelief at Ivy, who was looking down at him with a fury that he only saw when she confronted his mother. She then grabbed him by his collar, causing him to struggle a little.

“So you got what you always wanted? So you got your dream come true? Good for you!”

Ivy snarled as she dropped him, causing him to scramble away from her as he tried to get out of there, though part of his brain was questioning why they were doing this.

“Good for you!”

Carlos yelped as suddenly there was a knife right next to where he was just about to run toward, causing him to change direction.

“You-!” 

Another knife in his path, and another change in direction.

“You!”

Suddenly, Carlos was boxed in as he looked up at Ivy, who had a mix of anger and disappointment on her face as she twirled the final knife in her hand.

“Got a taste of a life so perfect so you did what you had to do! Good for you! Good for you!” 

Carlos tried to say something, anything, but couldn’t open his mouth as suddenly Ivy stomped and Carlos found himself falling deeper and deeper into a dark abyss.

Carlos then abruptly fell onto the ground, causing him to groan as he got up and look around. He then paled when he saw Pauline standing in front of him, all of the bandages on her arms loose and showing all of the needle and knife marks that came from her father experimenting on her for the sake of science. She was examining her scars when her cold glare settled on him.

“Does it cross your mind to be slightly sorry?”

She had a sarcastic bite to it that was rarely directed at him but still hurt all the same as he tried to tell her but, once again, found himself unable to do so.

“Do you even care that you might be wrong?”

Carlos winced as he remembered how many times he had claimed the work that he had known for a fact Pauline did as his own, feeling his guilt and shame coming back to haunt him.

“Was it fun?”

She slammed her foot down, causing everything to shake as she stormed toward him, tears pricking the sides of her eyes.

“Well I hope you had a blast while you dragged me along!”

She then shoved him onto the ground before turning and running right to into someone’s arms, though their face was obscured, and another person suddenly stepped forward, causing Carlos to gasp when he realized it was Diego.

“And you say what you need to say!”

Carlos saw all of the scenes of when he manipulated Diego for either a profit or just to fuck with him flashing by them, causing Carlos to reach out for his older cousin, but Diego just slapped his hand away, eyes burning with rage.

“And you play who you need to play!”

This time, there were scenes of Diego having to comfort Ginny and Claudine after Carlos did or said something careless that broke them into pieces due to everything they had gone through.

“And if somebody's in your way: Crush them and leave them behind!”

Diego’s anger briefly cracked into sadness as tears flowed down his cheeks and he punched the wall, causing the wall to crack as he backed off a few steps, the tears still flowing.

“Well I guess if I'm not of use, go ahead; you can cut me loose!”

Cadence and Cande stepped forward, with Cadence holding onto Pauline’s shoulders as tears ran down her face while Cande tightly held onto Diego’s hand, an angry and bitter look on her face as she regarded Carlos.

“Go ahead now, I won't mind!”

All four of them sang before the spotlight cut off, leaving Carlos in complete darkness as he tried to look for a way out.

“I'll shut my mouth and I'll let you go.”

Suddenly, the spotlight blared to life as it now showed David, looking sad as he held a picture of Cardinal, him, and all of the kids, with all of them having wide smiles and cheery looks. He then turned sadly toward Carlos.

“Is that good for you?”

David looked sad as his shoulders slumped in resignation and gave a bittersweet smile.

“Would that be good for you, you, you?” 

With each different “you”, Carlos saw flashes of his past before seeing himself in Auradon, still feeling out of place.

“I'll just sit back while you run the show.”

Cadence and Pauline soon joined him in the spotlight, with Cadence wrapping an arm around David’s shoulders while Pauline took the picture and stared at it.

“Is that good for you? Would that be good for you, you, you?”

With the first you, Pauline dropped the photograph. With the second, she opened a lighter and flicked it on. And with the last two, the lighter fell in slow motion before it finally landed on the photograph, immediately lighting it on fire.

“All I need is some time to think!” 

Carlos sang as he backed away from his angry family members, unsure about what to do with all of this anger and sadness that he hadn’t even had thought about.

“But the boat is about to sink!”

Carlos suddenly found himself at the edge of a cliff about to fall off, surrounded by the family he once knew. Gathering his courage, he ran toward them and managed to slide by them and continue running, not sure where to go.

“Can't erase what I wrote in ink.”

He then saw a huge screen of himself talking, which he knew for a fact as an interview talking about their homelife. An interview that he remembers that he lied about his home life because it was so ingrained into him.

“Tell me how could you change the story?”

He pounded his fist on the screen where he was, causing the Carlos in the interview to pause and look coldly down at him.

“All the words that I can't take back!”

He suddenly saw a inky black darkness start to creep up his legs and slowly crawl up his body. In the inky black, he could see not only the words that he had said in that interview, but also words that he recognized as ones that his mother said to everyone that she had ever hurt.

“Like a train coming off the track ‘cause the rails and my bones all crack!”

He watched as it crept closer and closer to his face and he started to her his mother’s voice slowly start to overlap with his own, much to his horror.

“I've got to find a way to-”

Carlos stopped as he felt a wave of anger and determination wash over him, as he shook his head and finally took control of his body, tearing away the inky darkness as he glared at it as it took the form of his mother.

“Stop it, stop it! Just let me off!”

He grabbed an axe that he spotted nearby and swung it at the form, causing it to split apart but show that, behind it was the angry crowd of his relatives. He then dropped the axe and ran, realizing what he had become in his attempt to be “accepted” by the other Core 4 and Auradon.

“So you got what you always wanted! So you got your dream come true! Good for you! Good for you, you, you! Got a taste of a life so perfect! Now you say that you're someone new!”

The group sang as Carlos ran, causing tears to start falling down his face.

“Good for you!”

However, he stopped in his tracks when he saw Rose standing in front of him, her eyes sad and her battle-scarred shoulders slumped in defeat and disappointment.

“Good for you!”

Carlos turned and he saw Coraline, looking at the knife that she had given to him as a present for his 10th birthday, before cruelly glaring at him.

“Good for you!”

Carlos turned once more and saw Connor glaring at him, holding what looked like the remains of a noose as he looked angry and sad at the same time.

“Good for you!”

With a chill going down his spine, Carlos turned around and saw Cardinal with his back to him and slowly turn toward him, a giant bruise that was no doubt from a noose on his neck and tears running down his face.

“So you got what you always wanted!”


	2. Just Your Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay accidentally causes his own wish to happen and realizes that something is wrong with Carlos's cousin.

Jay knew that something was off with Carlos ever since this morning, as the boy had jolted out of bed screaming, something that he rarely did since they had arrived in Auradon. But what made it worse was the fact that Carlos refused to talk to anyone, even Jane, about it. And everyone could feel this weird cloud of gloom that surrounded him.

 

Jay sighed as he sat down on the bench next to Carlos, who barely acknowledged his presence. He then thought about how, back on the Isle, usually the one would be able to get Carlos to cheer up and start talking again would be Diego.

 

“I wish Diego was here.” Jay said quietly to himself, feeling his fingers tingle with an unknown feeling.

 

Suddenly, a red glow filled the air as suddenly familiar guitar music filled the air.

 

“La da da da da. I'm gonna bury you in the ground.” Diego’s lightly accented voice sang.

 

Jay was suddenly made aware of the clueless teen sitting on the ground of the Tourney field, wearing his normal band outfit with the bedazzled name on the back of it.

 

“La da da da da. I gonna bury you with my sound.” he continued to sing, picking at the strings in a slow and carefree way.

 

“I'm gonna drink the red from your pretty pink face. I'm gonna-” Diego paused singing as he continued playing.

 

“Oh... you don't like that? OR DO YOU JUST NOT LIKE ME!?” Diego sang as he got up as his guitar playing got a little more aggressive.

 

“Sorry I don't treat you like god! Is that what you want me to do? Sorry I don't treat you like you're perfect like all your little loyal subjects do! Sorry I'm not made of sugar! Am I not sweet enough for you? Is that why you always avoid me? I must be such an inconvenience to you!” Diego sang, the played up rage almost sounding convincing to anyone who didn’t know him that well.

 

“Well, I'm just your problem! I'm just your problem! It's like I'm not even a person, am I? I’m just your problem, well...I shouldn't have to justify what I do! I shouldn't have to prove anything to you! I'm sorry that I exist! I forgot what landed me on your blacklist, but I shouldn't have to be the one who makes up with you! So, why do I want to? Why do I want to?” Diego sang with this passion and slight confusion in his words.

 

“I don't have a clue! I'm asking you! Why do I want to? That's why I wanna bury you in the ground and baby that's why I wanna bury you with my sound!” He sang, his voice becoming more desperate and confused as he continued.

 

“These feelings they cannot bloom. Sorry I don't even have the room. Cause I didn't mean to push all my friends away. Cause I'm just your problem! And I'm just your problem!” Diego sang as his words and guitar playing slowed until they stopped completely.

  
His somber mood almost immediately dissipated as he got up, still messing with the guitar tuning as he experimentally strummed the guitar. Everyone on the Tourney field was frozen with disbelief but Zevon slowly walked toward Diego and put a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Diego?” he asked.

 

Diego immediately looked up and cheerfully grinned as he hugged him close.

 

“¡Zevon! ¡Ha pasado tanto tiempo desde la última vez que te vi! ¿Como has estado haciendo? Estaba tan preocupada cuando escuché que te habías enfermado. ¡Pero pareces ser mucho mejor!” Diego asked in rapid-fire Spanish, which was both of them’s first language.

 

Zevon seemed startled and shocked at what Diego said but relaxed and chuckled before replying, “He estado bastante mal pero me he sentido mejor. ¿Qué hay de tí?”

 

“¡He estado fantástico! ¿No te han dicho algo tus novios?” Diego asked, sounding vaguely confused.

 

Zevon looked almost pained as he forced a smile onto his face and shrugged. Jay then looked over at Carlos, who had a look of surprise, horror, and happiness all rolled into one on his face. He got to his feet and went toward Diego, who spotted him almost immediately.

 

“Mi primo bebé! ¿Como estas? ¡Te he extrañado mucho desde que Papá y Cardinal te pusieron en cuarentena!” Diego said estatically, holding onto Carlos tightly.

 

“Diego, you’ve been talking in Spanish and you know my Spanish isn’t the best.” Carlos said with a chuckle, the lie slipping out extremely easily.

 

“Oh! I didn’t notice! I just got so excited at seeing Zevon that it just completely slipped my mind to speak English!” Diego said, switching from Spanish to English fluidly, though his voice was still edged by his strangely fascinating accent that was a mix between Spanish and French.

 

“It’s fine.” Carlos said with a reassuring smile and patting Diego on the shoulder.

 

Although Jay wasn’t sure if Carlos noticed, he definitely saw how Diego’s voice was almost...nervous and scared as he talked to Carlos and the fact that when Carlos touched him, he flinched.

 

Something was up.

 

Jay then decided to get up and walk over to the trio, plastering a nonchalant grin on his face as he wrapped an arm around Carlos’s shoulders.

 

“Would you mind if I borrowed Carlos for a few?” Jay asked with a chuckle.

 

However, instead of looking annoyed or confused, the djinn was surprised and ever so slightly horrified to see that Diego instead shot him a relieved look. One that, this time, Zevon obviously noticed, by the look of confusion on the Peruvian’s face. So, without a word, Jay quietly dragged Carlos off and noticed that everyone else in the field had gone back to doing whatever they were doing as Zevon guided Diego over to below the bleachers to talk in private.

 

“What was that about?” Carlos asked immediately, looking almost angry that Jay had pulled him away.

 

“Dude, are you blind?” Jay shot back, feeling red hot rage start to go through him at how oblivious he was.

 

That caused Carlos to falter as his angry look was replaced by one of pure confusion.

 

“What do you mean?” Carlos asked slowly, sounding uneasy.

 

Jay sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Sometimes his most intelligent friend was also the stupidest when it came to social cues. Mind you, some of that was probably because of him overwriting the deVil Family™ quirks to be replaced with the Core Four™ quirks, but the point still stood.

 

“When you told him to talk in English, there was an ever slight fearful tremor in his voice. And when you patted his shoulder, he flinched, probably expecting harder than a gentle pat.” Jay explained, trying to let him put the pieces together.

 

“But why would he be afraid of me?” Carlos asked, looking so confused that it made Jay’s heart twist in his chest.

 

“Carlos, did you forget about what you were doing to him before we were called to Auradon?” Jay pressed, genuinely surprised that Carlos had forgotten about it.

 

“No?” Carlos said with that bewildered look on his face.

 

Jay sighed and looked down at the charm on his necklace, which was in the shape of a lamp, and idly rubbed it before taking in a deep breath to say what was wrong. But, before he could, he heard an extremely loud scream that sounded very familiar. And by familiar, Jay meant that it was Audrey. The two glanced at each other before running over to where the scream had come from.


End file.
